Other features include the return of the hugely popular Million Dollar Mile, where attendees can rub elbows with some of the most expensive vehicles on the planet.

In all, more than 500 new cars, trucks, vans and SUV’s from 25 manufacturers will be featured, including the just-unveiled 2013 models.

And with a revived auto industry starting to shake off the gloom and doom of the Recession, Adelmann says dealers showing off their wares are standing by with incentives to put new car buyers in the driver’s seat.

“The Auto Show rebates and the Auto Show bonus cash is coming back,” he tells KMOX News. “So all those things are going to help entice people.”

After all, the ultimate goal of the Auto Show is to get people in the buying mood, and Adelmann says even before they open the doors at noon Thursday to let in the first visitors, there’s a positive feeling in the air.

“The auto industry is definitely on the rebound,” he says. “Will it ever be what it was with the amount of car sales we once had…who knows? But the vibe in the industry is fun, it’s exciting.”